Glomerular coagulation system in renal diseases

Glomeruli possess a complex hemostasis system with prothrombotic (procoagulant, antifibrinolytic) and antithrombotic (anticoagulant, fibrinolytic) properties that can act locally on platelet adhesion or aggregation, on plasmatic coagulation pathways, and on fibrinolysis. In vitro, inflammatory mediators, such as TNF, favor glomerular thrombogenic properties through enhancement of thromboplastin synthesis and of plasminogen activator inhibitor PAI-1, and through decrease in thrombomodulin activity. In some diseases, intraglomerular fibrin formation appears to be favored by increased glomerular prothrombotic properties, for example: augmented thromboplastin activity in immune glomerulonephritides and in Shwartzman phenomenon, excessive thromboxane A2 synthesis, and decreased fibrinolytic activity in severe renal allograft rejection. In other diseases glomerular hemostasis appears to function homeostatically, for example, in thrombin-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation with enhancement of fibrinolytic activity favoring fibrin dissolution. Novel methods allowing the study of glomerular hemostatic activities in renal biopsy fragments should help to understand the mechanisms of fibrin deposition in human diseases and to treat it on a logical basis.